Aku Aku
Aku Aku is an ancient spirit that lives within a mask and guides Crash and his friends as they defeat forces of evil. He has appeared in every Crash Bandicoot game, and is one of the most famous characters of the series. He acts as Crash's sidekick. History Pre-series history Hundred of years before the mutation of Crash Bandicoot, Aku Aku was a powerful witch doctor that lived in the Wumpa Islands. When he died, his spirit remained in the islands possessing a totem mask. Aku Aku acts through the mask and can rebuild it in case of a rupture. Aku Aku has an evil brother, named Uka Uka, who also turned his spirit into a mask. When Uka Uka planted the Uka Tree, Aku Aku defeated him, and then locked him up in the Mojo Temple, from where he never escaped, until the events of Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, when the last few peices of the Cortex Vortex freed him. Crash Bandicoot Aku Aku met Crash Bandicoot when he washed up on N. Sanity Beach after been thrown away from Cortex Castle after a failed experiment. Crash wanted to save a female bandicoot named Tawna from the clutches of his creater Dr. Neo Cortex, and Aku Aku decides to help him, in order to avert Cortex's plans and stop the pollution his factories spread across the islands they seam to have affected the wildlife as well. Then, Crash and Aku Aku make their way through the jungle to the Native Village and go inside. The very fat tribe leader Papu Papu gets woken up by them. Crash then makes his way to a second island where he goes in a temple and defeats another unsucessful evolved mutant kangoroo named Ripper Roo (who wears a straight jacket) and crosses a river. He then makes his way to a volcanic cave mine and defeats Koala Kong and crosses to Cortex Island. Crash crosses the Cortex Power Station and defeats the mobster-like Pinstripe Potoroo. He makes his way through the castle and defeats Cortex's assistant Dr. Nitrus Brio who turns himself into a monster and destroys the castle. Crash barely escapes to Cortex's Airship where he confronts his mentor and shoots him down. He rescues Tawna who then leave taking the airship. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back Again, Aku Aku serves as a help to Crash Bandicoot when he is tricked by Cortex to gather the Crystals, so he can save the planets energy but he really needs crystals to power up his newly built Cortex Vortex so he can turn everyone into his mindless slaves. Crash also gathers Gems, because the now rival of Cortex, N. Brio, insists he gets gems so he can take a shot at Cortex for taking all the credit for the Evolvo-Ray. So, Crash begins to gather the Crystals and the Gems with the help of Polar and Aku Aku. Brio however tries to stop him from getting crystals by getting Ripper Roo again, The Komodo Brothers and Tiny Tiger unfortunatly for him they fail. Later Cortex asks Crash to deliver the Crystals to his new ally Dr. N. Gin, but the bandicoot defeats him instead. Later Coco hacks into the warp room hologram system just as Cortex found out Crash has all the crystals and tells her brother what the genesis is really up to. However even after he's defeated the Cortex Vortex remains in space so after Crash collects all the gems Brio excidedly takes him to his laser cannon which blows up the Cortex Vortex. Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped Then in Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped he began to play more of a role in the game series. As he hears evil laughter overhead Aku Aku knows that his evil brother Uka Uka has been freed due to the Cortex Vortex in the second game smashing into his prison. Later he tells Crash, Coco and Polar about Uka Uka, takes them to the Time Twister (Polar gets left behind though) and tells them that Uka Uka, Cortex and their henchmen will try to gather the Crystals that are scattered across time. Aku Aku also frequently appears in the time vortex. He later reappears in the final showdown battling Uka Uka while Crash takes care of Cortex however he could incidently hit Crash. This is where most of Aku Aku's power is seen. When the mask and bandicoot fight the baddies again the time twister isn't able to hold itself, falls apart and with it's final portal takes Cortex and Uka Uka to the past, Luckly Aku Aku, Crash, Coco, Pura and Baby T get safetly back to the house. Meanwhile, Cortex and Tropy got turned into baby's and begin fighting over Uka Uka stretching him as Aku Aku concludes. "It is difficult to say what has happened to our enemies but i doubt we'll see them for a long time.". Crash Team Racing After that he was in Crash Team Racing giving Crash, Polar, Pura, and Coco opposite Uhelpful tips as they raced in a contest to save earth from Nitros Oxide who threatens to turn Earth into an enourmous concrete parking lot. Aku Aku also protects the good characters when they get the mask item with invincibility and enhanced speed. Crash Bash In Crash Bash he gathered Crash and Coco, and forced Dingodile and Tiny Tiger to fight for good in a contest created by him and Uka Uka that was suppose to end their conflict. In this game his team faced Uka Uka's team which included Cortex, N. Brio, Koala Kong, and Rilla Roo. Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex Then he appeared in Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex helping Crash and Coco defeat Uka Uka and the Elementals. He once again was the one to find out the enemy when he discovered Uka Uka and Cortex released the Elementals and begs Uka Uka to stop this madness. Uka Uka and the Elementals refuse then they attack him barely allowing him to escape. Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure Later appeared in Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure helping Crash defeat Dr. Neo Cortex. Aku Aku is the one who told Crash he must collect all the crystals to power the machine capable of stopping Cortex's Planetary Minimizer. Crash Bandicoot: N.Tranced Then in Crash Bandicoot: N.Tranced he helped Crash find a way to get to N.Tropy's base and ruin N.Trance's and N.Tropy's plan. When Cortex attempted to abduct him and hypnotize him Aku Aku was able to free him. Crash Nitro Kart After that he appeared in Crash Nitro Kart with basically the same role as he had in Crash Team Racing except he and the Bandicoots were up against Velo this time. He was seen discussing diets with Crunch right before he was abducted. Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage Aku Aku reappeared in the third handheld title, Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage when he and Coco noticed strange beasts walking around they called Crash. So Aku Aku and Crash set out when they met Spyro and teamed up to stop Cortex and Ripto. Crash Twinsanity Then in Crash Twinsanity he guided Crash through his journey and teamed up with Uka Uka in an unsuccessful effort to defeat The Evil Twins. In the beginning of the game he gave Crash helpful hints on the controls. Crash of the Titans Last he appeared in Crash of the Titans helping Crash save the Bandicoot's island from Uka Uka, Nina, Dr. Neo Cortex, and their monsters. In this game he is seen having the ability to jack enemies so Crash can control them. Mind over mutant He still helps to jack Titans but he is not visible on the Titan's face. He is also able to shrink the titans so it fits inside Crash's pocket. Physical Description Aku Aku is technically a mask although strangely he appears much more as a block of wood. He appears with four feathers on his head in all games up until Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex where he had seven feathers. He then had four feathers for the rest of the games until Crash of the Titans where he was remodeled with five feathers. He also has a green goatee until Crash of the Titans where it was not seen. In some games his face appears painted on but in most games his face appears more realistic. In all games except for Crash Bandicoot and Crash Bandicoot 2 his eyebrows never appear drawn on. His appearence in Crash: Boom, Bang is unchanged except for his angry expression. Crash Tag Team Racing He had a cameo appearenence in one of the races. In Crash of the Titans, Aku Aku, along with other characters recieved extreme makeovers cosmetically. Aku now appears more triangular and curved, with a more expressive face. Aku's design vaguely resembles a monkey. Powers and Abilities *He has the ability to grant people one extra hit point if they break an Aku Aku Crate and two extra hit points if the person breaks two. *He has the power to grant temporary invicibility and break all the crates and enemies the player touches when 3 Aku Aku Crates are broken. *He can materialize in places when he has a large amount of energy. *He can also use his energy to form beams or explosions. *Aku Aku can also shapeshift to jack a titan. Personality Aku Aku is a happy, good hearted, and peaceful being but at the same time he knows when to take important matters (like saving the world) seriously. He is kind and has helped Crash, Coco, and Crunch throughout many of the games. He is also obediant to the rules of his superiors "The Ancients" who strangely have never been seen. Appearances *Crash Bandicoot *Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back *Crash Bandicoot: Warped *Crash Team Racing *Crash Bash *Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex *Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure *Crash Bandicoot: N.Tranced *Crash Nitro Kart *Crash Bandicoot: Purple *Crash Twinsanity *Crash Tag Team Racing (cameo) *Crash Boom Bang! *Crash of the Titans *Crash: Mind over Mutant Category: Characters